Canary
by bethylark
Summary: A strange visitor shows up against her will at Mason Industries. The team struggles to figure out who she is, where and when she's from, and how she's connected to them.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Notes:

Haven't come up with a name for this yet... the idea been in my head for a couple weeks now, so I figured, why not write it down? I hope you like it! Feel free to make guesses on who the girl might be. I will tell you though, it's probably not what you might think.

The team had left to go home hours ago after their last mission, but Connor Mason remained alone at the Mason Industries warehouse. He had a bountiful supply of bourbon in the back that he was tapping into more and more frequently as the days went past and Garcia Flynn was still at large with the mothership.

He drank to try to quiet the thoughts in his head questioning how he got here, how he'd gotten in so deep with Rittenhouse, how he'd dragged a respectable man like Rufus Carlin down with him.

What kind of future could there possibly be for a man like him?

It was this thought that scared him the most. He liked to believe he wasn't a bad guy, but there was no denying he could be incredibly selfish and cowardly when faced with a severe threat. And he loathed himself for it.

Mason's musing were interrupted by a sudden shaking in the building. At first, he thought he was imagining things - it sounded almost like... the lifeboat...

He ran out to the main room where the lifeboat was stored and was almost relieved when he saw it sitting intact in its rightful place. Before he could realize the sound was still there, a flash of white made him cover his eyes and when he opened them, there was Flynn. In the mothership.

Flynn grabbed something aggressively and tossed it out of the ship before closing the door and vanishing once again.

The whole event had happened so quickly, and with the liquor slowing his brain Connor was unable to react for several more moments after Flynn was gone. It was the muffled voice that brought him out of his shock.

He hesitantly approached the object Flynn had discarded and discovered it was no object - it was a person, a young girl tied up and gagged. And she looked absolutely pissed.

"Will you please come down from there?" Mason shouted up at the visitor who was currently perched atop the corner of a beam high on the walls of the warehouse.

After he'd untied the girl, he tried asking a few basic questions (what's your name, where are you from, do you have any weapons on you) and when she didn't respond, he'd called Agent Christopher to tell her of the situation. What was Flynn trying to accomplish dropping this girl here? And what period in history was she from?

When he'd turned around after hanging up the phone, the girl was gone. He frantically searched his surroundings before he spotted her, climbing the wall like some kind of monkey trying to get out of his reach.

This was where the two found themselves when Agent Christopher and other staff arrived. The girl was small, likely a teenager. She was curled up where two beams met, scowling and refusing to acknowledge anyone else's presence. Does she speak English? Does she speak at all?

"Honey, would you please come down from there? We just want to talk to you," Agent Christopher tried. The girl at least acknowledged that she'd heard as she turned her head slightly to examine the source of the voice. Still, she didn't say a word and turned back to her previous position.

"Someone get a ladder and get her down from there," Agent Christopher ordered the staff. The girl must've heard, but she didn't seem concerned.

"So Flynn was here, with the mothership, and you just stood there and watched?" Agent Christopher turned to Connor.

"Yes, well, it happened so fast and he was gone before I had a chance to think," he defended. She didn't look like she believed him, which was unfortunate because he was telling the truth for once.

A worker had returned with a ladder and was almost at the top within reach of the girl when she turned and grabbed him by the hair, nearly causing him to fall. For a moment it was dead silent before she finally spoke.

"Do not touch me," she commanded before letting go of the man's hair as he scrambled back down to the ground.

This at least gave them some information about her. She could speak, she could speak English, and she sounded American. It was something.

"What do you want?" Connor shouted back.

The girl just glared at him. It almost made him shiver... the look in her eyes, it seemed familiar.

"Why are you here?" he tried again. This time she didn't even acknowledge him.

"Get the team here, see if they know who she is or recognize her from one of their trips," Agent Christopher ordered.

Wyatt Logan was getting annoyed at these phone calls from Mason Industries that seemed to always come the moment he'd shut his eyes. But Wyatt Logan followed orders and like a good soldier, he rose from his couch and grabbed the car keys.

On the phone he'd just been told that Flynn had dropped off a mysterious visitor while everyone was gone and they needed the team to come in. Wyatt was considering just telling whoever it was that had messed with his sleep to go to hell as he made the journey through the empty late night streets towards the building.

When he arrived, Rufus was already there, staring up at something. Wyatt followed his gaze and was surprised to see a young girl sitting on one of the beams, maybe 20 feet up. Was this the 'visitor'?

"She won't speak to us, besides using some creative profanities," Connor Mason said, clearly annoyed.

"Do you recognize her?" Agent Christopher asked Wyatt. He shook his head no. Why would Flynn leave a teenager girl here? What was he doing?

Lucy arrived and immediately saw the girl.

"Who is she?" she asked. Wyatt shrugged.

"She looks scared," Rufus observed.

"You mean pissed," Connor spat.

Both appeared to be true. Lucy took a few steps closer, and looking up at the girl began to speak in a soft but firm voice.

"Hi, my name is Lucy Preston. Could you tell me your name?" she asked, and the girl finally turned her head. As her eyes landed on Lucy, there was no question she had recognized her.

The girl continued to stare, still not speaking.

"I know this must be scary for you, but it would make things easier for everyone if you could help us figure out why you're here," Lucy continued.

"I don't know why," the girl finally spoke, no longer sounding totally pissed, at least.

Lucy looked back at the team before she spoke to the girl again. "Well, if you would come down here, I'd like to help you figure that out," she said gently.

The girl seemed to be seriously considering this before her eyes shot to Connor, glaring daggers once more. "You won't try to touch me? Or hurt me?" she asked, and Lucy reassured her as the others agreed.

Finally, she climbed down the beams. Wyatt was impressed that she'd even got up there, like she were some kind of Spidergirl or something.

When the girl was safely on the ground, she hesitantly walked towards Lucy. They all followed her to a conference room, where Lucy took a seat but the girl walked around for a few moments before deciding to climb up on a desk and perching there.

They all looked back and forth between each other before Lucy cleared her throat.

"So, um, could you tell us your name?" she asked.

The girl didn't immediately answer, instead her striking blue eyes searched the room, examining each one of them. She's a survivor, Wyatt thought to himself. He knew that look. She was making sure she had a way out, sizing up her potential assailants.

Finally she turned back to Lucy. "Jenna," she said quietly.

"How old are you, Jenna?" Agent Christopher asked.

This time she answered immediately. "Seventeen," she said.

"Why would Flynn drop a teenager here in the middle of the night?" Rufus questioned.

"Because he's a bag of dicks," Jenna shot back.

Wyatt snorted, "my thoughts exactly."

At his voice, Jenna's gaze focused on him. He didn't waiver, just stared right back. And that's when he realized how familiar she seemed. She had black hair that was tied back in a braid, olive skin with a spatter of freckles across her nose and cheeks, but those eyes... Wyatt didn't know where or when, but he knew he'd seen those eyes before.

"Do we know you?" Wyatt asked. Her gaze dropped and she turned to stare out the window of the conference room, offering no answer as she began picking at her fingernails; clearly a nervous habit.

"What year do you come from?" Rufus tried. The girl didn't seem annoyed, but still didn't speak.

Wyatt's gaze wondered to Lucy and he noticed she was staring intently at the girl as well. Did she recognize her too? What the hell was she hiding?

"Why won't you tell us anything?" Connor snapped, and the girl jumped slightly, like she'd been startled out of a daydream and forgotten how where she was.

Lucy shot Connor a glare as the girl remained silent and he exited the room, seemingly fed up.

As the door shut, Lucy turned back to the girl. "Jenna, we just want to help you," she said softly. Jenn looked back at her but didn't say anything.

Jiya walked in the room. "We can't figure out where or when Flynn went to before he brought her here. He must've encrypted the system thinking we wouldn't catch it in time. We broke into it but there's no way we can go back," she explained.

The team stood quietly in thought for a while before Agent Christopher finally spoke. "Well, there's nothing more we can do about this now while everyone's exhausted and missing sleep. Get some rest and be back here at 9," she ordered.

"What about the girl?" Rufus asked.

The agent stopped and look at each of them. "Any takers?" she asked.

"I mean, I'd say she could stay with me, but I don't know how I'd explain to my mom..." Lucy started.

"I'll take her," Wyatt offered. "I have the room," he justified.

Agent Christopher nodded and the group headed towards the door. As they entered the hall, Jenna was walking close behind Lucy. When the team went in separate directions to their cars, she still followed Lucy.

"Um, Jenna, you're going to stay with Wyatt," Lucy explained, pointing him out.

Jenna stared at her for a moment before she seemed to understand. "Oh! You mean, you don't live together?" she sounded confused.

"No, why would we?" Lucy responded.

The girl looked between the two of them. "I'm sorry, I thought since... uh, never mind," she said as she turned to follow Wyatt. He and Lucy exchanged a curious glance before he turned and headed to his car with the girl in tow.


	2. Chapter 2

Wyatt unlocked the door and stood by to let Jenna in to his small house. She hadn't spoken a word since they left the warehouse.

"Um, so, I can take the couch if you want to sleep in the master bedroom..." Wyatt began.

Jenna glanced at him cautiously. "The couch is fine," she replied.

Wyatt gathered up a pillow and some blankets for her. "I'm sorry, I don't think I have any clothes that will fit you," he said. She was quite petite, and he considered offering some of Jessica's old items, but those would still be to big for her. And besides, he didn't want to open the drawer he'd left untouched since 2012.

Jenna got settled and Wyatt headed back to his bedroom, dropping his phone and keys on the nightstand. He glanced at the clock and saw that it read 2:17 a.m. Denise said to return to Mason Industries at 9, which gave him about five and a half hours of sleep before he had to get up again. It wasn't idea, but he'd take it.

When he woke up at a quarter til eight, Jenna was still passed out on the couch. She looked so young and peaceful lying there, it made him wonder what threat this girl could possibly post that Flynn thought would help his cause.

He got started making some coffee and eggs when the girl finally rose and headed into the kitchen, her hair looking a bit messy and her eyes not quite open yet. It was adorable and comical.

"I made some breakfast," Wyatt announced as he put a plate out for her on the counter where she sat at a stool. She mumbled a thanks but after several minutes she had little more than push the food around with her fork. It was probably hard to have an appetite when you were kidnapped and placed against your will in a strange time with strange people...

"So you said you're seventeen, right? Do you go to school?" Wyatt asked. He wasn't feeling particularly talkative but he felt bad for the girl.

"Just graduated," she answered quietly. Wyatt nodded and the awkward silence returned.

"Do you have a family?" he tried. The girl nodded and he waited for her to elaborate, but she said nothing else.

"Will they notice you're missing?" he continued. The girl looked up at that and then got a sad look on her face.

"Yes, I'm sure they will," she finally said.

Wyatt waited a few moments before he tried to find out more.

"What are your parents' names?" he asked.

"Hannah and Mateo," she responded.

"Mateo? That's an interesting name," Wyatt said, hoping to get her talking about them some more.

"My father was from Mexico," she said quietly.

Wyatt tried to read her expression as she continued to pick at her food. She still hadn't taken a bite. "Was?" he noticed. "What happened to him?"

"He's dead," she answered. "So is my mother."

"I'm sorry," he said. He considered reaching for her hand, but decided against it. He was already pushing his luck getting her to talk this much.

"Who do you live with then?" he continued, trying to keep her talking.

"My grandparents," she answered. Wyatt nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was close to 8:30, so he announced that they should be heading out and placed their dishes in the sink after shoving as much of what was left on Jenna's plate in his mouth as he could.

* * *

When they arrived at Mason Industries, Lucy was already there, waiting.

"Was she okay?" she asked Wyatt. He nodded and told her what little information he'd been able to get out of her, and then repeated it as Connor and Denise approached them.

"Seventeen years old, parents' names, lives with her grandparents. I guess that's something," Agent Christopher said. "We'll run that through the computer and see what we can find."

While they were talking, Jenna had wandered off and was hovering behind Jiya's desk, fascinated by whatever she was doing on her computer.

"Jenna," Connor interrupted, and she jumped slightly. The girl seemed to be on edge, Wyatt observed. Why wouldn't she be in this situation? She was probably still in shock after watching Jiya work on the computer; depending on how far back in history she was from, she may have never seen anything like it.

Jenna hesitantly stepped toward them. "Come on up to the conference room. We'd like to ask you some more questions," Connor said. She looked apprehensive but when Lucy nodded encouragingly at her, she dutifully followed.

Once in the same conference room as the night before, she returned to her same perch.

"Do you have something against chairs?" Connor asked, sounding a bit condescending.

Jenna just scowled at him and didn't respond, which made Connor huff impatiently.

Agent Christopher approached her. "Would you consider allowing us to take some blood to do a DNA test so we can try to figure out who you are?" she asked.

The girl's eyes widened and she immediately shielded her arms and shrunk against the window she was leaning on.

"I guess that's a 'no,'" Wyatt laughed quietly. She was being difficult, which usually would annoy him, but for some reason he found it charming on her.

"How about telling us where you're from?" Rufus tried. Jenna looked at him and her expression immediately softened.

"Texas," she answered.

"Where in Texas?" Wyatt asked.

"A farm," she replied. It wasn't the answer he was looking for but it was still something.

"What kind of farm?" Lucy asked gently.

"We raise horses and rabbits," she responded.

"And you live on this farm with your grandparents?" Wyatt asked. She nodded and then looked away through the window.

Jiya entered the room once more and explained that they were unable to find any match to a seventeen year old girl named Jenna fitting the description she had given of her life so far. She must not be from a recent time, they guessed.

Wyatt wasn't so sure, the girl didn't seem alarmed by most of the modern technology as someone dropped off from the distant past would be. In fact, she seemed familiar with most everything, from fastening her seatbelt in the car to the running water in Wyatt's home.

The girl didn't deny Jiya's conclusions, but she didn't confirm them either. She was still staring out the window when they tried to speak to her again, apparently somewhere else as she made no acknowledgement that she heard them.

Lucy stepped closer to her. "Jenna?" she said, finally getting the girl's attention. "We asked if you have a last name," Lucy repeated.

Jenna seemed to ponder whether this was something she could reveal. After a moment, she said "Santana."

Agent Christopher nodded at Jiya who exited the room probably to go try adding that to narrow the search, as well as the vague info she'd provided about where she was from.

"Are you afraid of what Flynn might do to you if you talk to us?" Rufus inquired.

The girl shrugged. "Only a little," she replied.

"Then why won't you tell us anything?" Connor asked, irritated.

The girl looked at him cautiously, like she was trying to figure out why this man was so angry. "I don't think I should," she finally said.

The team sat in silence for a while trying to figure out what that meant before another computer worked stepped into the room to announce that Flynn had taken the time machine to 1876.

"What's 1876?" Wyatt asked.

Lucy shrugged. "The bicentennial? The Battle of Little Bighorn? The first telephone call?" she listed the possibilities.

"Oh, please let this be about the telephone and not another warzone," Rufus prayed aloud. Wyatt silently hoped the same.


	3. Chapter 3

"What are we going to do with Jenna? We could be gone for days," Lucy said.

"Well, we certainly can't bring her with us," Rufus replied.

Wyatt looked at the girl. She actually seemed present and was observing the conversation.

"What do you think?" Wyatt asked her. She seemed surprise that he would want her input.

"I think... if Flynn wants to kill General Custer, you should let him do it."

Though she appeared to be joking, Wyatt could hear the sincerity in her voice. Lucy looked concerned.

"What?" Jenna questioned innocently. "He was a terrible person. And he does anyways, maybe it can save some Lakota lives to kill him early. That's definitely a good thing in my opinion."

Lucy made a face but said nothing back to her, as if to say _touché._

Huh. Was it that easy to silence Lucy about history? This girl was talented.

"We're getting off topic," Denise interrupted. "The girl can stay here," she resolved. "I'll keep an eye on her. If you're okay with that," she added.

Jenna looked a little apprehensive but agreed. Wyatt felt more comfortable knowing she would be under Agent Christopher's protection. He liked and respected the woman.

* * *

As it turned out, Garcia Flynn was nowhere near modern day South Dakota in 1876. He was in Richmond, Virginia. What he wanted in the reconstruction-era post-antebellum south was a total mystery to all of them, and after six hours of roaming the town questions the locals for clues, they had made no progress on the mission.

"Maybe there's a Senator or politician here that's a member of you-know-what," Rufus suggested. The idea was plausible, but a random politician seemed too insignificant for Flynn, considering what he'd done so far.

"No need to overthink this."

At the sound of that unique accent, Wyatt immediately cocked his gun in the direction of the voice.

Flynn smiled. "I just wanted to meet you all somewhere that you couldn't call for reinforcements. I want nothing here," he motioned to the city.

"Really?" Lucy snapped at him. "You traveled trough time and risked changing history just so you could talk to us discreetly?"

"Yes," Flynn answered simply. "Why not? Nothing significant going on here today."

Lucy made a noise of disgust. "What do you want, Flynn?" Wyatt demanded.

"Well, I'd hoped by now you've gotten to know your special guest and want to discuss some things with me, where Rittenhouse can't hear us?" he looked at them expectantly.

They stared back at him blankly for a few moments before realization dawned on him. "Oh, you haven't figured out who she is yet?" he questioned patronizingly.

"Who is she?" Wyatt asked.

Flynn held up a hand as if to placate him. It only pissed Wyatt off; how arrogant this man was, constantly hiding information from them and making things unnecessarily difficult.

"Now, now, I don't want to spoil it," Flynn said, grinning. "I bet she isn't talking much, is she? That girl's a stubborn one. It runs in her family," Flynn said, winking at none of them in particular.

It was infuriating, the way he acted like this was all a game. He couldn't just be practical for once. Wyatt was seriously considering putting him in a chokehold and demanding he talk when he suddenly dashed away as the mothership appeared.

"I guess I'll see you again after you figure it out," he called out to them as he climbed inside. Before closing the door, he turned back to them and shouted "Oh, and bring her with you next time!"

And then he was gone.

* * *

Wyatt was feeling especially irritated when they made it back to the present.

"What did Flynn want in 1876?" Connor asked the moment the team exited the lifeboat.

"Absolutely nothing, except to taunt us," Lucy answered.

"'Taunt you'?" Connor asked. "About what?"

"Jenna," Wyatt replied. He watched as Jiya came up to them and embraced Rufus. For a moment, he felt a pang of jealousy. He was happy Rufus had found someone, of course; it just also reminded him of how lonely he was since he'd lost Jessica. Without thinking, he found himself looking at Lucy. She was smiling softly in Riya's (the couple name Lucy and Wyatt had been using to refer to Rufus and Jiya when they weren't around) direction.

"Did he give you any clues as to who she is?" Connor's inquiry interrupted Wyatt's thoughts.

Lucy sighed, "Nope. Just said he wanted to talk to us when we figure it out."

"So you think this girl is connected to one of you in some way?" Connor asked as the team themselves began wondering silently how this girl could be connected to Rittenhouse. Why else would Flynn bring her here?

Agent Christopher finally joined them, but while everyone was catching her up, Wyatt was lost in thought again.

He knew Jenna seemed strangely familiar. He knew she recognized Lucy somehow. He had a few guesses as to why, but they all seemed too far fetched or downright impossible. Then again, until recently, he thought time travel was impossible.

So, he kept his thoughts to himself for now. Maybe after he'd mulled it over a bit, he could talk to Lucy and Rufus about it privately and see if they had any similar suspicions.


	4. Chapter 4

It was around noon when Connor began insisting they question Jenna some more. Lucy protested that they weren't going to get anywhere by forcing her, but Wyatt knew Mason wouldn't believe that until he saw it himself. He wasn't comfortable interrogating what in his eyes was still a kid, but they had to keep trying. Lucy was overruled.

The girl was still perched in her spot, staring off into space when the team entered the room. Lucy took a seat close to her.

"How was 1876?" Jenna asked.

Lucy shook her head. "Honestly, pretty boring compared to our other trips," she said.

Lucy then made eye contact with Denise and cleared her throat. They couldn't openly discuss Rittenhouse here; especially not where Connor could hear them.

"Flynn seems to think we should know who you are," she finally said. Jenna remained silent but she turned her gaze to Connor Mason.

After a few moments, he became uncomfortable under her stare. "What?" he snapped. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jenna didn't miss a beat. "Because I don't trust you."

Connor was at a loss for words. None of them said anything in his defense, either, which made it all the more awkward as it was now clear no one in the room trusted him.

To his credit, Connor handled the calling-out gracefully. After a pause, he said politely, "Would you be more comfortable if I left the room?"

Jenna didn't verbally respond, but it was obvious the answer was yes. Connor exited quietly.

Lucy looked to Rufus, silently asking if the recorder was on; if she could ask about Rittenhouse. He subtly shook his head 'no.' Rittenhouse had eyes and ears everywhere; it wasn't far-fetched to assume they would have recording devices throughout the Mason Industries warehouse.

"Listen, we really want to help you get back to where ever - or whenever - you came from, but we can't do that if you don't tell us something about who you are," Denise said.

Jenna sat forward. "Okay, look. I wish I could make this easy for all of you, believe me, I do. But there are rules that really shouldn't be broken when it comes to this stuff and, frankly, I don't know who is safe to talk to around here."

"What do you mean about 'rules when it comes to this stuff'?" Rufus asked.

The girl made a face like she didn't mean to say that out loud and bit her lip. Lucy placed a hand on her shoe that hung over the side of the table.

"Everyone in this room right now, you can trust," she said sincerely. "I promise."

Jenna sighed and waited a few moments before responding. "I'm not from the past, I'm from the future. I couldn't tell you how far because I don't know what year this is-"

"It's 2016," Wyatt interjected. Jenna looked at him and then off into the corner of her eye like she was calculating.

She shook her head. "Alright, well, it doesn't matter what exact amount. The thing is, in my time there are no time machines - at least, not that anyone knows about - they were all destroyed. I can't tell you who I am because we still don't know how much knowing your future can affect the timeline and its outcomes. There are some things - events, timings of things - that can be changed, but there are others that will find a way to happen no matter the timeline or circumstances," Jenna explained.

"So, like... fate?" Lucy asked.

The girl shrugged. "Maybe."

"So what kinds of things happen no matter what?" Wyatt asked, intrigued.

She shrugged again. "It's impossible to tell unless you experience it yourself, traveling through time, changing history."

Wyatt thought about the things that happened despite the changes they and Flynn had made during their travels; Lincoln dying anyway, the Hindenburg, the reporter who resembled his wife dying anyway...

The room was silent as they let all of this new information sink in.

"So it's too risky to know about your own future?" Rufus asked and Jenna nodded.

"Do you know us in the future? Is that why you can't tell us who you are - because you're part of one of our futures?" Lucy asked.

Jenna looked down and started picking at her fingernails again. "I'm sorry, I just don't think I can tell you too much."

They were quiet again, trying to contemplate a way around this rule.

"But I will try to help you the best that I can otherwise," Jenna added. "I want to go home."

"Then is everything you've told us so far true?" Agent Christopher questioned.

Jenna nodded, "I haven't lied to you."

"What should we do now?" Rufus asked after a pause.

Agent Christopher thought for a moment. "I guess we have to wait until Flynn makes some kind of contact again. We can't risk sending you to the future where some or all of you might already exist." She looked to Jenna to confirm.

"Yes, I believe only Flynn, or someone who's not alive in my time, can take me back. And I'm guessing you don't have spare time travelers that I would know," Jenna said.

They didn't. They were a unique, elite team; few people even knew time travel was possible, and Rufus was their only pilot. They couldn't risk sending him somewhere that he might run into himself. His mind was far too valuable. They couldn't send Jenna back alone - someone had to bring the lifeboat back or else they'd be screwed with finding and capturing Flynn.

"Alright team, go home. I'll call you when there's any update," Denise ordered.

* * *

"Does Lucy ever come over here?" Jenna asked. She and Wyatt were sitting watching TV later that afternoon in his living room.

"Uh, no," he answered. "She's never been to my house."

"Oh," she said. Wyatt thought about asking more; like 'does Lucy come over here a lot in the future?' but he knew she wouldn't be able to answer him. Still, this girl didn't seem to be very good at keeping secrets, and his curiosity got the better of him as he realized there were some things he could infer from her small clues.

"You seem to like Lucy, huh?" Wyatt asked. "I'm guessing you know her in the future."

The girl didn't answer, but she didn't need to.

They returned to silence and Wyatt close his eyes, hoping to get some respite from this ever confusing world he found himself in.

What seemed like only seconds later, he woke up to his phone ringing. He knew who it was - Mason Industries. He checked the time and saw that it was nearly ten o'clock at night.

"We have... some news," Agent Christopher said tersely. "Come in as soon as you can."


	5. Chapter 5

When Wyatt and Jenna arrived back at Mason Industries, they found everyone gathered around Jiya's computer. Lucy and Rufus had already arrived.

"What's the news?" Lucy asked when she saw everyone was now present.

Agent Christopher looked to Jiya who began to explain what was on her screen. "We were able to find some information with the names you provided of Jenna's parents," she said as she pointed at the screen. It was census records and some photos.

"There was a Mateo Huemac Santana Mazahua born in 1962 currently living in Zongolica, Veracruz in Mexico. Do you recognize that name?" Jiya asked the girl.

Jenna nodded. "I think that's my... great grandfather?" she guessed. "My Abuela once mentioned my father was named after his grandfather."

Jiya looked back at the screen. "It says in the census here that he has four children: Manuel, Sofia, Ofelia, and Juan Rafael."

"My abuelo's name is Manuel," Jenna responded.

Jiya examined the records in front of her. "It says he was born in 1985 and currently lives in the same town with his wife, Carina."

"I don't think my father was born yet," Jenna said. "But he was from Veracruz."

"Well that something, I guess," Rufus said.

It was, but it still didn't tell them anything to help get Jenna back to her time. Wyatt thought of something. "And your mother?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Jenna responded, confused. "What about her?"

"You never told us her last name," Wyatt said.

Jenna suddenly looked uncomfortable and began fidgeting, picking at her fingernails once again. Wyatt waited a few moments to see if she'd respond, but she said nothing.

"What's the problem? Why won't you tell us?" Denise asked. Jenna just shook her head, and Lucy understood.

"She's part of one of our futures?" Lucy asked and Jenna made brief eye contact with her, which was all the confirmation she needed.

Lucy, Rufus and Wyatt decided to go for some drinks at a local bar and grill after Denise had dismissed them. Jenna was currently occupied at one of the arcade games nearby, and Wyatt kept an eye on her from his seat at a cozy little booth in the corner.

Wyatt took a sip of his beer, lost in thought trying to figure out who Jenna was to them. With her brown skin, she could potentially be related to any of them. Clearly, she took after her father the most physically (minus her eyes), so he was having a hard time recognizing any of her traits that could come from one of them. She didn't have Rufus' nose, nor Lucy's lips. Perhaps she had something of his... He just could not figure it out.

"So which one of ours do you think she is?" Rufus asked, bringing their attention back to him.

"I don't think she's any of our kids..." Lucy responded. "I mean, she told us her parents' names. And her great grandfather was born in the 60's, so she's gotta be a few more generations down."

"She could be lying - about her parents, I mean," Rufus said.

Wyatt shook his head. "No, that girl couldn't lie for shit," he said. "If she doesn't want to tell the truth, she just doesn't answer. You've seen it."

Rufus nodded.

"Maybe she's a grandchild of you and Jiya's," Lucy asked, and the men seriously considered it before they saw the playful look on Lucy's face.

"Nah, she doesn't really look like either one of you," Wyatt said with a smile as Rufus looked down, bashful.

Rufus tried to direct attention away from him. "Well, she's gotta be one of yours," he said.

"But which of us?" Lucy asked, and Wyatt looked down, suddenly uncomfortable as he thought of the possibilities. Jenna wasn't necessarily related to only one of them... Across the table, Rufus cleared his throat. Wyatt's eyes snapped back up to him, analyzing what that could be about. Was he thinking the same thing?

"What?" Lucy asked Rufus.

"Uh, nothing, ah," Rufus stuttered. Wyatt glared at him. _Choose your words carefully here, Carlin._ Rufus caught Wyatt's gaze and swallowed. Lucy still looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. He sighed and continued, "it's just, uh, you know, she might not be... just _one_ of yours..."

 _He actually said it out loud. Get me out of here now,_ Wyatt thought to himself. It seemed to take Lucy a moment to realize just what Rufus was saying and her eyes grew wide as her cheeks reddened.

"Oh," she said quietly. Wyatt couldn't look at her; he stared into his beer as if praying some force would come and take him to an alternate universe at that moment - anything to get him out of this situation. He couldn't think about Lucy like this. He couldn't think about the possibility that they would have... _children_ together. No, he wasn't ready to think about that at all. He felt disgusted with himself for even considering the possibility of being with anyone besides Jessica... especially knowing what he knew about time travel - how could he live with himself if he didn't at least try to save his wife from such a horrible fate when he had the means to do so?

With a rare stroke of luck, the waiter approached them and interrupted the tense atmosphere between them to ask for any food orders. Wyatt wasn't particularly hungry, but then Jenna returned to the table and nervously asked if she could order some fries. Wyatt nodded of course - he had yet to see the girl eat anything since she'd arrived from the future.

The team was quiet for a while after that, until Jenna asked a question about the game she'd been playing and it got Rufus talking. At least it filled the awkward silence and kept his mind from wandering to where it had been earlier.

Jenna practically inhaled her fries, which made Wyatt chuckle. Lucy asked her about her favorite food - which, to no surprise, was french fries - and that got her talking about her _abuela_ 's cooking for a while. It almost felt normal, sitting in a restaurant with some friends, talking about comforting, simple things like food and video games. It relaxed Wyatt enough that he began to notice just how tired he was. Tired, but almost... content. Yes, that was what he was feeling. _Was that okay?_

He shook his head to try and prevent the darker thoughts from surfacing, telling him he didn't deserve to feel such things. Soon enough, their waiter brought the check. Wyatt paid and downed the last of his beer before standing up, indicating to Jenna that it was time to go. She looked a little disappointed, but dutifully followed without protest. _She knows better_ , Wyatt thought.

When they got home, Wyatt went straight to bed without checking to see if Jenna needed anything. She knew her way around well enough, and she could take care of herself, he justified.

He slipped off his shoes and dropped on top of his sheets, not possessing the effort even get undressed. His exhausted mind couldn't keep his curiosity at bay any longer, and as he went to sleep, he thought of Lucy. He thought of Lucy's mannerisms, of her voice when she talked about history, and somewhere along the line Lucy's voice blended into Jenna's as she talked about her abuela's famous _mole_ , and before he could ponder what that meant, he was unconscious.


	6. Chapter 6

Wyatt woke to the sound of someone shrieking. Immediately, he was on his feet, ready to investigate. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly 6 a.m.

The sound was coming from the living room. He burst in to find Jenna tangled in her blanket on the couch, screaming bloody murder. He rushed to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking it a little to try and wake her as he called her name.

"Jenna! Hey! Wake up! It's just a dream!" he said. Her eyes shot open and with the light from the dawn Wyatt could see how large her pupils were. She was petrified.

She was crying and mumbling incoherently, sweating and in a panic. Wyatt continued to try to comfort her, but she was not calming down. She started gasping and saying, "Where is she? Where is she?!"

"Who?" Wyatt asked. Jenna's eyes couldn't seem to focus on him and she kept repeating the question.

Wyatt shook her shoulder slightly, trying to snap her out of it. "Who?!" he demanded once more and Jenna's eyes focused on him briefly before darting away again.

"Lucy" she finally rasped out, hyperventilating.

"Lucy? You want Lucy?" Wyatt asked and she nodded. Wyatt walked over to where his phone was resting on the table and dialed Lucy's number.

She picked up on the second ring. "Hello? Wyatt? What's wrong?" she croaked sleepily.

"It's Jenna – she's having some kind of panic attack or nightmare or something. She keeps asking for you," Wyatt explained quickly.

"Oh, um, okay," Lucy sounded more alert now. "Do you want me to come over there?"

"If you don't mind," Wyatt replied. "I can't get her to calm down."

He gave Lucy the address and hung up the phone, returning to Jenna's side. She was curled in a fetal position, crying softly and drenched in a cold sweat.

"Lucy will be here soon, okay?" Wyatt said. He thought he saw her nod but it was hard to tell with her crying shaking her body.

He reached a hand out to rub her back comfortingly. About fifteen minutes passed before there was a knock at the door and Wyatt rose to answer it.

"She's on the couch," he cocked his head in the direction and led her inside.

Lucy hesitantly walked towards the girl and knelt down next to her. Jenna reached out to grab her hand and squeezed it, hard, still not speaking. They sat like this for a while, Wyatt kneeling behind Lucy, as Jenna's crying slowly waned.

"Were you having a nightmare?" Lucy asked softly when it seemed like Jenna's breathing was close enough to normal to speak.

Jenna nodded slightly, her grip on Lucy's hand not relaxing one bit. Lucy waited a few moments and then spoke again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. Jenna looked at her, her pupils now a more normal size, and shook her head.

Lucy nodded and they returned to silence once more. Wyatt wondered if Lucy was thinking the same questions he was. As he drifted deeper into his thoughts, Jenna's crying stopped completely.

Finally, Jenna broke the silence. "I saw the whole thing," she said gravely.

Wyatt got an eerie feeling at her words. "What thing?" he asked.

"They died right in front of me," Jenna responded.

Wyatt paused a moment before asking, "Your parents?" Jenna nodded, still squeezing Lucy's hand.

They sat like this for a while more, the sun now coming up and shining some light through the windows. They were all fully awake now.

"How did they die?" Wyatt asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. This was all too suspicious; he had to know more.

"They were murdered," Jenna answered in barely more than a whisper.

Lucy and Wyatt exchanged a cautious look and it was obvious they were thinking the same thing. Her parents were _murdered_ right in front of her?

"How old were you when this happened?" Lucy asked.

"Eleven," Jenna replied and Lucy's eyes widened as she looked to Wyatt again. No wonder she was in such a panic – she had probably been reliving the whole experience in her nightmare. Wyatt could relate to that. Hell, Lucy could too, with that car wreck. But seeing your parents murdered right in front of you as a child? That was extremely traumatic by anybody's standards.

"Did they ever catch the killer?" Wyatt asked, his sympathy apparent in his voice.

"No," Jenna said coldly as she got a bitter look on her face. She released Lucy's hand and Lucy pulled it back and stretched it out, grimacing slightly at the soreness. The girl had quite a grip.

They sat quietly for a little while longer. Wyatt stood to announce he was going to take a shower and change his clothes, and told Lucy to make herself at home. He saw Jenna lie back down and Lucy reach up to stroke her hair, tucking it behind her ear as she closed her eyes. They looked so peaceful and comfortable with each other. He didn't know how to feel about it.

When he emerged from the shower in fresh clothes, he found the girls sitting at the table, smiling and talking quietly over some coffee. Wyatt quirked one side of his mouth up in a small smile as he entered the kitchen and poured himself a cup.

"Feeling better?" he asked and Jenna nodded shyly.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," she said.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Wyatt said, and he meant it. When you saw things like that happen right in front of you, the memories never really stopped haunting you.

Wyatt made them some breakfast and they sat in his small kitchen in comfortable conversation for a while. At one point, Jenna asked if she could get a change of clothes, and Lucy offered to drive her to the mall to get some necessities since it didn't seem like she was going home for a while. They were still waiting on Flynn and he had made no contact or movements since they met him in Richmond. This would be the third straight day in the same clothes for her – a Mexican style peasant blouse, jeans, and huaraches – and she desperately wanted to brush her teeth and shower.

When they were finished eating, Lucy and Jenna got up to head out to go shopping and Jenna asked Wyatt if he would come with them. He thought about staying home – he was pretty tired – but he didn't like where his thoughts went when he was left alone, and he had some things he wanted to talk to Lucy about.

Jenna turned out to be the world's slowest shopper. She wanted to look at _every last thing_ in a store before making a decision on what was the best deal, and most of the time she decided on nothing at all. She seemed to be very considered about making the most of every cent, and Wyatt wasn't used to seeing such a young girl so concerned with money. By the third store, they had convinced her that they would get Mason Industries to cover the costs as "travel expenses" and she finally picked out a few functional outfits. Lucy laughed as Jenna admired her purchases, calling them "vintage."

They stopped at another store to pick up some toiletries – soap, a toothbrush, a hairbrush – and by then it was early afternoon so they stopped at a food court. Lucy and Wyatt sat at a table while Jenna got in a line. Wyatt was debating how to bring up his newest suspicions when Lucy spoke in a low voice.

"Do you think her parents' murder has something to do with… _you-know-who_?" Lucy asked cautiously.

Wyatt looked around to make sure no one could overhear them and fidgeted with a napkin. "I was thinking the same thing," he responded. They both deflated as the possibility sunk in.

"We have to tell Rufus and Agent Christopher," Lucy declared, and though he didn't like it, Wyatt agreed.

"Why do you think Flynn brought her here?" Wyatt asked after a moment.

Lucy shook her head. "I don't know, but if her parents' death is connected to Rittenhouse, and she's part of one of our futures…" she trailed off.

"You think he's trying to manipulate us into joining him? Showing us something horrible that will happen in the future because of Rittenhouse?" Wyatt filled in the blanks.

"I think it's likely," Lucy said lowly as Jenna walked over and joined them with food. Wyatt suddenly didn't have much of an appetite, and tried to drown out his dark thoughts by listening to Jenna and Lucy's light conversation. Jenna was telling stories about some of the horses on the farm she lived on, and the time her cousin let all the rabbits loose as a prank on her and she had to chase them all down back into their pens before her Grandpa found out.

Lucy cleared her throat. "So, are these your father's parents that you live with?" she asked.

Jenna shook her head no. "My mother's," she said softly. Clearly there was another secret there, so Wyatt tried to ask.

"What about your father's parents?" he asked. "Are they around?"

Jenna looked down. "They used to be," she said. "But they're back in Mexico now." It was clear she was sad about it.

"Were they…?" Lucy started.

"They were deported," Jenna said shortly and took another bite of her pizza as if to say " _we're done talking about this._ "

Lucy drove them back to Wyatt's house and dropped them off. Wyatt could tell she didn't want Lucy to go (he didn't want her to either, if he was being honest), but they had no real excuse to ask her to stay, so they watched as she drove off.

Inside, Wyatt showed her how to work the shower and left her to clean herself up. Exhausted, he slumped onto his bed. For once, his mind had mercy on him and he passed out almost immediately.


	7. Chapter 7

Wyatt woke to sound of faint humming. The setting sun peaked its rays through his curtains, landing right on his face, and he squinted as his eyes adjusted. Stretching, he got out of bed and followed where the music was coming from. It was Jenna, dashing around the kitchen - which was a mess. Apparently she'd taken it upon herself to cook dinner, and by the looks of it, was preparing for a small army.

"What's all this?" Wyatt asked and she startled, interrupting her humming that Wyatt realized was a Bob Dylan song he couldn't quite remember the name of.

"Well, I like to chop vegetables - it calms me down," she said, and Wyatt stared at her. "And sometimes I just really want enchiladas, you know..." she continued sheepishly.

"So you decided to make enough for 20 people?" he asked her and she bit her lip.

"Well, I thought maybe we could, um, share them with... uh..." her cheeks were turning red, and he almost had to laugh at how adorable it was. It reminded him of someone...

"Where did you get all the ingredients?" he suddenly asked, realizing there was no way he had that much food in his pantry.

"Um, I went to the grocery store down the corner," she said. "You left your wallet on the table, so I thought..."

Wyatt sighed. "I'll gladly give you money for anything you need, but please ask me first next time," he said.

She nodded timidly. "So, I thought maybe - uh, Lucy could come over," she continued.

"That's still only three people eating 10 pounds of enchiladas," he deadpanned.

"Well, do you have any other friends who might be hungry?" she asked innocently.

* * *

Wyatt had to admit, the girl was a good cook. He'd invited everyone he liked who knew about Jenna - Lucy, Rufus, Jiya, even Denise and her family. Not Connor, though. Jenna specifically told him not to invite Connor, but he wasn't planning on it anyway.

Turns out, Denise has two young daughters, Isabelle and Julie. Jiya and Rufus were playing cards with them in living room, while Denise's wife watched them from the chair. Jenna was still playing chef, insisting on chopping up her own salsa - three different kinds. Wyatt's stomach was really starting to grumble and he was getting a little impatient waiting for dinner to be ready.

Finally, when Jenna announced everything was ready, everyone took their seats crowded around Wyatt's small dining table. It was cozy, but everyone was smiling and it was nice to be able to relax a little bit for the first time in a while. Jenna served each of them, explaining everything she'd made and why it was so yummy and really just overselling it. Still, Wyatt found it charming.

Jenna wanted to sit by Lucy, and Wyatt sat on the other side of her. "Could you pass the-" Lucy paused when Jenna was already handing her the salsa verde. "Um, thank you..." she said, uneasy, but Jenna just smiled at her with childlike affection. Something about the exchange made Wyatt feel warm.

As they began eating, it grew silent in the room. The food was amazing, and everyone was absorbed in it. Denise praised to Jenna generously, and again she blushed, seemingly uncomfortable with the attention. Maybe it was the whole atmosphere of the evening, but Wyatt was feeling playful.

"So, where'd you get those pipes?" he asked Jenna. She looked up, confused. "Your singing," he clarified. "You have a beautiful voice."

"Oh, my mother I guess," Jenna answered.

"Do you sing in a choir or anything?" Lucy asked, and she shook her head. "Why not?"

Jenna wiped her mouth with her napkin as she swallowed what she was chewing. "Well, I used to sing with my mom a lot, but after she died it just felt like, that was _our_ thing. I guess I just feel like sharing it with everyone else would make it less special."

"I understand," Lucy said. "But I think your mother would want you to share it with others. It's a thing of beauty, and sharing such a gift is... one of the most beautiful things about humanity."

Jenna mumbled, "I guess so," before Rufus changed the subject of conversation and the tension in the room released once more.

* * *

Jenna had offered to do the dishes, but Wyatt told her she'd done enough for today and that he didn't mind doing them himself. The others gathered in the living room while Lucy joined him at the sink.

They were silent, but his awareness of how close they were standing seemed so loud. They made contact a few times - each both electrifying and awkward - before Lucy cleared her throat.

"This was nice," she said. "I haven't had anything like this in... a long time. It's been just my sister and I on holidays for years... ever since my - Amy's dad died and Mom got sick..."

"I know what you mean," Wyatt responded. "I forgot how nice it was. Having a family, I mean."

Lucy smiled, and Wyatt had to admit how right this felt. All of them together - hell, having children around was something he definitely wasn't used to. But he liked it, this makeshift "family" of theirs...

He watched Lucy as she continued drying the dishes. Was that what she was to him? Family? If so, which role did she play?

Before he could do something stupid like reach over and brush her hair behind her ear, Denise and her family walked in the kitchen and announced that it was getting late and the girls needed to get home and go to bed. They embraced and exchanged their farewells, and then Jiya and Rufus followed, hand in hand. If he didn't think about it too hard, he could almost pretend this was a normal thing that they did all the time.

Finally, Lucy headed for the door and Wyatt drew a blank trying to think of some excuse to make her stay longer. Before he could say anything, Jenna walked up and wrapped Lucy in a tight embrace. Lucy looked a little startled but hugged her back after a moment. Clearly, the girl loved Lucy. _Well, she is very lovable._

"Thanks for dinner," Lucy said when Jenna released her. "Uh, let me know if you need anything," she said awkwardly before waving to Wyatt and closing the door behind her. Wyatt stood there staring at the closed door, not remembering a single word of any of the four languages he supposedly knew.

"I wish she lived here," Jenna said. Wyatt didn't know how to respond to that, so he didn't. He finished cleaning up the kitchen and Jenna stood there still, watching him.

"Why didn't you ask her to stay?" she said finally.

Again, Wyatt was at a loss for words, "Um..."

"Don't you want her to stay?" she pressed.

"Yeah," Wyatt said quickly. "I mean, uh, sure. It'd be okay if she stayed but I don't really-"

"Then why don't you ever ask her?" Jenna inquired.

"She has her own place, Jenna," he responded defensively. "It's kinda weird to ask her to stay at my house, it's not like..." he trailed off. _What isn't it like?_ He asked himself, not knowing the answer.

Jenna huffed. "Nevermind," she said and retreated to bathroom to get ready for bed. Wyatt stayed up a while longer, picking up after everyone until Jenna settled in on the couch. She mumbled a "goodnight" as he exited the room and he responded in kind, feeling strange about their whole conversation. He tried to stop thinking about it as he settled in for the night and failed miserably until sleep overcame him.

* * *

In the morning, Agent Christopher called and asked them to all come in, presumably to continue working on a way to get Jenna back to when she belonged. Wyatt had been feeling so relaxed the prior evening, but his conversation with Jenna at the end of the night had left him uneasy since. He was so distracted that he didn't react in time to what happened next.

As they entered Mason Industries, Jiya was introducing a young man she said was a new intern, but before she could finish saying his name, Jenna pounced on him. Despite her small frame, she kneed the man in the crotch hard enough to make him double over in pain, and in one swift motion grabbed a gun from the belt of a nearby security guard and pointed it at his head.

"Woah, woah, woah! What's going on here?" Denise shouted.

Jenna released the safety and hissed at the new guy, "You worthless son of a bitch!"

At that, several other guards trained their guns on Jenna, but she didn't seem to notice, the expression on her face pure hatred. The man began to get back up when Jenna kicked him again and moved the gun closer to his head.

"Who the hell are you?" the man shouted hysterically.

"Hey, now, let's calm down a minute!" Lucy sprung into action, standing between Jenna and the man.

"Move," Jenna growled coldly.

"Jenna, let's put the gun down and discuss this calmly," Lucy tried.

"Move," Jenna said once more.

"Why do you want to shoot him?" Lucy asked.

"He deserves it!" Jenna shouted angrily before trying to get around Lucy at the man. Finally, Wyatt's senses caught up to him and he grabbed her wrist, snatching the gun from her hands and holstering it.

"He deserves it!" she shouted again as they tried to hold her back. "Shoot him! You can stop him now!" she cried desperately.

"Stop him from what?" Lucy asked her.

"He's a murderer! He'll kill them! He'll kill your own daughter!" she said before Wyatt stepped in and lifted her over his shoulder, taking her a way from the scene and into a private room. She kicked and struggled and when he set her down she clawed at him trying to get to the door, but she was no match for him. Eventually, she gave up, and put her head in between her knees as she began sobbing. Wyatt figured the best thing to do was to just let her get it out.

After a little while, Lucy knocked on the door and Wyatt let her in. "Let me talk to her," she said calmly as she walked over to kneel in front of Jenna.

"Jenna," she said softly. "What do you mean 'he'll kill my daughter'?"

"He's Rittenhouse!" she replied, her voice now hoarse and her eyes bloodshot.

"How do you know he'll do that?" Lucy asked.

"I saw him do it myself!" Jenna said desperately.

Lucy was quiet for a few moments, putting the pieces together in her head. "Jenna," she said hesitantly, "is my daughter... your mother?"

Jenna began crying again and hid her face in her hands. Of course she couldn't answer that, but they knew. She exchanged a worried look with Wyatt before motioning them into the hallway, leaving Jenna alone inside.

Rufus and Denise were waiting there for them. They looked at Lucy expectantly, and she nodded.

"So she's...?" Rufus started.

"Yep. My granddaughter," Lucy said, her voice sounding far away.

"And how does she know the new guy?" Rufus asked.

"She says... he's going to kill her parents," Lucy answered.

"Well, I guess that explains her outburst," Denise commented.

Wyatt observed Lucy. He reached out and put a hand on her arm and she looked up at him. "What is it?" he asked gently.

"I... I know that man," she said.

"The intern?" Rufus asked. "How?"

Lucy swallowed before answering slowly. "He's... my brother."


	8. Chapter 8

**This is a heavy one, guys. Content warning for gun violence and violence in general.**

 _New Mexico, 2047_

Jenna sat on the floor with her two chihuahuas, swaying with the music coming from the man and woman sitting on the piano bench in front of her in their quaint adobe house.

 _Felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders_

 _Should I break or retreat and then return_

 _Facing the fear that the truth, I discover_

 _No telling how, all these will work out_

 _But I've come to far to go back now._

Jenna loved her parents' cover of the old bluesy tune, and she swore that it was Xolo's (the longhaired male chihuahua) favorite song. Her mother, Hannah, was recently voted the top female vocalist of her generation, and her father, Mateo, was a genius songwriter. Together they made up a tremendously successful folk rock duo, bringing the genre back into the mainstream with their debut album _La Muerte_ released in 2038. Over the following decade, they'd released six more albums, all hits, and become well known for their outspokenness and activism. Five of their albums had donated over 50% of their proceeds to different charities and causes. But besides concerts and public appearances at award shows, the couple kept a relatively low profile. They'd been living in eastern New Mexico since the year after Jenna was born, not wanting the public eye to compromise Jenna's childhood or their private relationships.

 _I am looking for freedom, looking for freedom_

 _And to find it cost me everything I have_

 _Well I am looking for freedom, looking for freedom_

 _And to find it, may take everything I have_

Mateo played the piano while Hannah strummed her guitar, singing the chorus together. Xolo jumped up to try and lick Jenna's face and she giggled loudly, the sound adding to the rustic beauty of the song. She fell back on the floor as both dogs smothered her with kisses, and Hannah couldn't help but think about how perfect this moment was. It was a nice break from what had been a busy few months, the country divided into multiple passionate opinions on the state of the world and what should be done about the various environmental disasters that seemed to always ravish the areas most in need. Hannah and Mateo had headlined numerous benefit concerts and been working on several campaigns to elevate the voices of the oppressed. Naturally, this was making some people very angry, and the number of anonymous death threats they'd received hit an all-time high since they're achieved fame. Three weeks ago, they'd announced they'd be taking the summer off from everyone to spend time at home with their daughter and family. So far, it had been doing wonders for their mental and emotional well-being, and they'd begun writing again, enough to fill two albums if they wanted to book the time in a recording studio.

Their extended family was something of a rarity; everyone was so close. Hannah and her brother were as close to each other as they were to Mateo's siblings; Hannah's parents and Mateo's parents had so much love for each other and their children, it was almost overwhelming. But, as they say, some things happen for a reason, and the reason for such a strong, loving family bond was that they would need it with what they were about to go through.

As the song ended, Mateo was beginning to tell Jenna it was time for bed when he was interrupted by someone knocking at the door. Mateo rose to answer it to find a man in his 50s standing on the other side pointing a gun to his head.

" _Whoa!"_ Mateo said holding up his arms as he stepped in front of his wife and daughter.

"Line up against the wall!" the man ordered, but Hannah just stepped up next to Mateo, staring down the intruder while the dogs barked up a storm at all the commotion. "Tell those rats to be quiet!"

"Who are you?" Hannah asked, refusing to back down.

The man grinned wickedly. "Don't you recognize your own uncle?" he asked.

Hannah looked confused. "What?" she said. "I don't have any uncles..."

The man huffed. "Does the name Benjamin Cahill mean anything to you?"

Hannah narrowed her eyes at him, putting the pieces together in her mind. "My mother never mentioned you," she said.

"Probably thought I was rotting in prison with the rest of them," the man shrugged, "But they couldn't get rid of all of us." He sounded a bit fanatical at the last part.

Jenna watched the scene unfold with terrified eyes. "Mama, is he going to shoot me?" she asked.

"No, baby," Mateo said. "He wouldn't shoot a defenseless child," he said like it was a challenge.

The man snorted, "Sure I would. We've done it before."

"We?" Mateo asked.

"Rittenhouse," Hannah answered before the man could, and the man's hands were noticeably shaking now. "Give it up, Ben," she said. "Your _organization_ is doomed, you really think this will prevent that? We've been fighting you for decades, there's very few of you left. It's over," she spoke confidently as she took a step towards him.

"Don't move!" the man called Ben ordered.

Jenna was now crying. "Mommy," she called out at the same moment Hannah took another step forward to try and disarm him.

She had just grasped his wrist when a shot rang out and Hannah fell back, blood soaking her shirt from the wound in her stomach. The dogs had long since run out the door, startled when they attempted to bit the man's legs and he kicked them, hard. Their barks could still be heard coming from outside underneath Jenna's shrieks.

Mateo had rushed to his wife's side, putting pressure on the wound and begging her to stay with them. Hannah pointed towards Ben and Mateo looked up to see him aiming his gun at a petrified little Jenna, and he stood up, putting himself in between them as he shouted at her, " _Run!_ "

Another shot rang out, hitting Mateo right in the forehead, and Jenna took only a half-second pause before she darted down the hall towards the back door, running as fast as she could in her slippers. Ben tried to pursue her, but the desert environment provided Jenna with an intense cover of darkness as she ran in the direction she knew led somewhere safe.

"You've lost," Hannah struggled to say, trying to keep the man distracted to protect her little girl. The barking could still be heard through the open doors, and it was clearly irritating the assassin.

"Shut up!" he shouted, a crazed look in his eyes as he began pacing back an forth.

* * *

Jenna ran as fast as she could towards the border. Near it was her grandparents' ranch, about a mile and a half from where she lived. The adrenaline kept her running, and when she finally saw the light coming from their house she almost passed out from exhaustion. Still, she forced herself towards the door and started banging frantically.

A beautiful woman in her early sixties answered the door, the silver streaks in her black hair glittering in the light like a halo.

"Grandma!" Jenna shrieked as she hurled herself at her, tears running down her face, looking a total fright.

"Jenna?" a man's voice called - her grandfather - coming to find out what was going on.

"Sweetheart what's wrong?" her grandmother asked with a worried voice. "Did you walk all the way here?"

"He shot them! He shot mama and then he shot Daddy! He shot them!" she said in a breathless panic.

Her grandfather was already armed and ready. "Who?" he demanded, his commanding tone urging Jenna to focus.

They were already in the car and speeding towards Jenna's house when she answered him between hiccups, tears still flooding her vision, "A man! Mama called him Ben!"

"Ben?" her grandfather questioned, turning to his wife. She seemed confused for a moment before her eyes widened, "It couldn't be..." she said in shock.

"Stay here!" her grandfather ordered as he jumped out of the car and burst through the door of Jenna's house. But Jenna was just like her mother, and her mother before her, stubborn and disobeying.

Her grandmother had run right after him, and Jenna followed behind her. Benjamin had been on the phone, frantically speaking to someone when her grandfather knocked him over roughly, her grandmother rushing to Hannah's side as she struggled to breathe, a sickening amount of blood pooling on the floor next to her.

Jenna had never seen her grandma so scared as she did in that moment, holding her daughter's hand as she tried to put pressure on the fatal wound.

Her grandfather was in a struggle with Ben, who'd taken a hard hit to the face evidenced by the blood gushing from his nose. Strangely, Ben was smiling, gruesomely baring his bloody teeth. "You're too late, Sarge," he taunted. In one quick movement, he overpowered her grandfather and reached for both of their guns, holding one at her grandfather's head and one aimed at Hannah.

"You won't get away with this," her grandmother said coldly as she rose to a standing position. "You think you'll be some kind of martyr? It's over, Ben," she growled at him.

But Ben wasn't deterred. He looked down towards Hannah and Lucy reacted as quickly as she could, shooting him in the chest.

But not before he'd pulled the trigger that delivered the fatal blow to Jenna's mother.

* * *

It had been about a month since her parents' death, and Jenna was grieving on her grandparents' couch as they were having a heated discussion in the kitchen.

"Everything we have indicates he was the last one," Lucy said, her voice hollow.

"I couldn't protect them," her husband mumbled, head in hands. He fully expected Lucy to blame him, to never forgive him for allowing Benjamin to take their daughter away from them.

"Hey," Lucy said, wrapping her arms around him as tears filled her eyes. She pulled his hands away and forced him to look her in the eye. "It's not your fault," she said with conviction, but the expression he wore was so heartbroken she knew he may never completely believe her. "We've done everything to protect them their whole lives," she continued.

"Someone must have betrayed us," her husband said in a whisper. "But who would do that? We've locked up the rest of them, and everyone else who knows about all this would never..."

Lucy's face grew somber. "Perhaps it was an accident..." she said quietly.

"How could it be an accident?!" her husband demanded, his voice growing louder, but Lucy grabbed his arms as he tried to stand up, forcing him to stay with her.

"We thought Ben didn't know about Rittenhouse because he'd only been a teenager when we put Cahill Senior away," she continued. "But what if Ben was secretly part of this all along? Didn't he work as a computer engineer at Mason's rival company?"

Despite his age, her husband still remained just as handsome as he was in his youth, and it still gave her chills every time she saw that vengeful look come over his blue eyes. "You think he found out where they lived from Mason?" he said lowly.

"It's a possibility," Lucy answered quietly, not liking the implications at all.

* * *

 _Texas, 2048_

Jenna had been living with her grandparents for over a year now, attending private and group therapy sessions at least once a week to deal with the trauma of all that had happened.

The official report released said that Hannah Logan and Mateo Santana had been killed by a crazed fan who then shot himself. There was no trial, no official public funeral service, but many fans had organized their own in different cities around the globe. Jenna's grandparents had moved to a farm in rural Texas, taking her with them as they decided they'd had enough of the public eye for their lifetimes. Taking care of the animals had been helpful in giving each of them a sense of purpose to bring them out of the darkness. Her grandparents had been devastated at the loss of their daughter, and just like the animals helped Jenna, Jenna helped them. They continued on because Jenna needed them, and they weren't going to let anything more happen to the people they loved.

One night, when they were beginning to feel alright again, they sat Jenna down and told her what they could about all the events that had led to that night. They told her about what had brought them together, about the lifeboat and the mothership and Garcia Flynn. They told her how the time machines had been destroyed and how dangerous they had been. And the promised that they would keep her safe.

That lasted until the mothership appeared on their farm five years later.

 **I know that in canon traveling to the future is not possible, but I had to tweak that rule for this story.**


End file.
